Systems and methods for presenting user selected scenes

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods are described herein for presenting user selected scenes. A media guidance application may generate for display a listing for a media asset, wherein a play length of the media asset includes a non-selectable play length portion and a selectable play length portion. The media guidance application may generate for display a first scene option corresponding to a first scene and a second scene option corresponding to a second scene. The media guidance application may receive a user selection of the first or second scene option and incorporate the selected scene into the selectable play length portion of the media asset. The media guidance application may generate for display the media asset with the selected scene incorporated into the selectable play length portion.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/502,851, filed Sep. 30, 2014, currently pending, the disclosure ofwhich is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Media assets, such as television programs, are typically passivelyconsumed by end users, with no additional interaction required by theend user. For example, a traditional television program comprises aseries of scenes which are presented to the end user in a particularorder. Every end user of the television program and rebroadcasts/replaysof the television program may receive the same series of scenes in thesame order as the original broadcast. However, certain scenes of themedia asset may not be critical to a central plot of the media asset.The end user may wish to replace such non-critical scenes with alternatescenes that are more suitable to their preferences. Furthermore, the enduser may wish to make such selections of alternate scenes in real time,during playback of the media asset, thus increasing the interaction withthe media asset.

SUMMARY

Accordingly, systems and methods are described herein for presentingmedia assets with user selected scenes. For example, in order toincrease the appeal of a particular media asset and/or to increase theappeal of repeated viewings of a particular media asset, a mediaguidance application may customize the content of the media asset to thetastes and/or preferences of the user. Moreover, the media guidanceapplication may customize the media asset by replacing default scenes ofa media asset with alternate scenes of the media assets.

While the default scenes of the media asset may include subject matter,viewpoints, characters, plot lines, etc., originally selected (e.g., bythe creator of the media asset) to be depicted in the media asset, themedia guidance application may replace one or more default scenes withone or more alternate scenes that include different or slightly modifiedsubject matter, viewpoints, characters, plot lines, etc., than thatpresented in the default scenes. Furthermore, the alternate scenes maybe selected by the user based on the particular subject matter,viewpoints, characters, plot lines, etc. that the user wishes toconsume.

In addition, the media guidance application may present the user withoptions for the alternate scenes that inform the user about theparticular subject matter, viewpoints, characters, plot lines, etc.,found in each of the one or more alternate scenes. The options may bepresented to the user before or during playback of the media asset, andthe media guidance application may inform the user of not only thepresence of the alternate scenes but also the location of the alternatescenes in the play length of the media asset.

According to one aspect, a media guidance application may present userselected scenes by generating for display a listing for a media asset,wherein a play length of the media asset includes a non-selectable playlength portion and a selectable play length portion. For example, themedia guidance application may include a portion with one or moredefault scenes that cannot be replaced with alternate scenes and aportion with one or more default scenes that can be replaced withalternate scenes.

The media guidance application may also generate for display a firstscene option, wherein the first scene option corresponds to a firstscene for incorporation into the selectable play length portion, and asecond scene option, wherein the second scene option corresponds to asecond scene for incorporation into the selectable play length portion.For example, the first scene and the second scene may representalternate scenes with which the user can replace a default scene.

The media guidance application may receive a user selection of the firstscene option or the second scene option. For example, the media guidanceapplication may receive a user selection of a scene that corresponds tothe particular subject matter, viewpoints, characters, plot lines, etc.,with which the user wishes to view while consuming the media asset. Insome embodiments, the user selection may be received before a broadcasttime of the media asset and/or during playback of the media asset.

The media guidance application may further incorporate either theselected first scene or the selected second scene into the selectableplay length portion of the media asset based on the user selection. Forexample, in response to a user selecting an alternate scene thatfeatures a particular character, the media guidance application mayreplace a default scene that features a different character in the mediaasset with the selected alternate scene.

The media guidance application may then generate for display the mediaasset with the either the selected first scene or the selected secondscene incorporated into the selectable play length portion. For example,the media guidance application may begin playback of the media asset inwhich default scenes and any alternate scenes selected by the user areseamlessly intertwined.

In some embodiments, the first scene option may correspond to a defaultscene, and the second scene option may correspond to an alternate scene.For example, a first scene option may correspond to an editor'srecommendation for viewing the media asset, and the second scene maycorrespond to a recommendation from another entity. Alternatively oradditionally, the first scene may represent a scene that isautomatically incorporated into the media asset if a user selection isnot received.

In some embodiments, a play length of the first scene may equal the playlength of the second scene. For example, the incorporation of analternate scene may not affect the total play length of a media assetand/or the point in the play length of the media asset at which adifferent scene is scheduled to be presented.

In some embodiments, the selectable play length portion and/or thenon-selectable play length portion may comprise one or more scenes ofthe media asset, and the selectable play length portion of the mediaasset may correspond to a portion of the play length in which one sceneof a plurality of alternate scenes is incorporated. In some embodiments,the media asset may include a plurality of scenes, and the mediaguidance application may incorporate either the first scene or thesecond scene into the selectable play length portion by including thefirst scene or the second scene in the plurality of scenes. In someembodiments, the non-selectable play length portion and the selectableplay length portion are presented in series during playback of the playlength. For instance, the selectable play length and non-selectable playlength may comprise one or more scenes that are presented in aparticular order during playback of the media asset.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may receive the userselection of the first scene or the second scene by receiving a userselection of an actor, genre, location, or topic that corresponds to theselected first scene or the selected second scene. For example, the usermay indicate a favorite actor, and the media guidance application mayautomatically select either the first scene or the second sceneassociated with the indicated actor. In some embodiments, the mediaguidance application may automatically select a third scene forincorporation into a second selectable play length portion of the mediaasset. The third scene may correspond to either the selected first sceneor the selected second scene. As an illustrative example, the thirdscene and the selected first or second scene may share a commoncharacteristic, such as an actor, genre, theme, topic, or any othersuitable characteristic. In some embodiments, the media guidanceapplication may automatically select the third scene by comparingmetadata associated with the selected first scene or the selected secondscene to metadata associated with the third scene. The media guidanceapplication may automatically select the third scene based on themetadata associated with the selected first scene or the selected secondscene corresponding to the metadata associated with the third scene.

According to another aspect, the media guidance application may presentuser selected scenes by generating for display a progress bar for amedia asset that graphically represents a user's progress through a playlength of the media asset. For example, the progress bar may correspondto an on-screen graphic that indicates a point in the play length of themedia asset at which that user is currently viewing.

The media guidance application may determine a location on the progressbar that corresponds to a first point in the play length at which theuser is presented with an option to select one of a first scene and asecond scene for incorporation into the media asset. For example, themedia guidance application may determine that at the 15 minute mark inthe play length of the media asset the user will be presented with theoption to select one or more alternate scenes.

The media guidance application may generate for display a graphicrepresentation of the option at the location. As an illustrativeexample, the media guidance application may overlay onto the progressbar an icon representing either one or both of the first and secondscenes. In some embodiments, the graphic representation of the optionmay be generated for display during playback of the media asset and/orprior to playback of the media asset.

In some embodiments, playback of the media asset may be automaticallypaused at the first point in the play length, and the graphicrepresentation of the option may be generated for display while theplayback of the media asset is paused. For example, in response todetermining that an alternate scene is available, the media guidanceapplication may pause playback of the media asset in order to allow theuser to select an alternate scene.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may automaticallyselect the first scene for display after a period of time subsequent topausing the playback of the media asset. For example, the media guidanceapplication may wait for a timeout period of time before automaticallyselecting a default scene for display.

In some embodiments, the graphic representation of the option may informthe user about the content of the alternate scenes. For example, thegraphic representation of the option may include a first thumbnailcorresponding to the first scene and a second thumbnail corresponding tothe second scene. Alternatively or additionally, the graphicrepresentation of the option may include a description of the firstscene and a description of the second scene.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may inform the userabout the content of the alternate scenes upon the user selecting agraphic representation of that scene. For example, the media guidanceapplication may generate for display a description of the first sceneand a description of the second scene upon a user selection of thegraphic representation of the option.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may alert the userto the approach of a point in the play length of the media asset atwhich alternate scenes are available. For example, the media guidanceapplication may graphically accentuate the graphic representation of theoption as playback of the media asset nears the first point in the playlength. For example, the media guidance application may graphicallyaccentuate the graphic representation by altering the size, shape,color, animation, or otherwise graphically distinguishing the graphicrepresentation.

It should be noted that the systems and/or methods described above maybe applied to, or used in accordance with, other systems, methods and/orapparatuses.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects and advantages of the disclosure will beapparent upon consideration of the following detailed description, takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like referencecharacters refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 shows an illustrative example of a display screen for use inaccessing media content in accordance with some embodiments of thedisclosure;

FIG. 2 shows another illustrative example of a display screen used toaccess media content in accordance with some embodiments of thedisclosure;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an illustrative user equipment device inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an illustrative media system in accordancewith some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 5 shows an illustrative screen for selecting user selected scenesin accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 6 shows an illustrative media progress screen in accordance withsome embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for presenting user selectedscenes in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of another set of illustrative steps forpresenting user selected scenes in accordance with some embodiments ofthe disclosure; and

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of another set of illustrative steps forpresenting user selected scenes in accordance with some embodiments ofthe disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The amount of content available to users in any given content deliverysystem can be substantial. Consequently, many users desire a form ofmedia guidance through an interface that allows users to efficientlynavigate content selections, easily identify content that they maydesire, and/or consume the selected content. An application thatprovides such guidance is referred to herein as an interactive mediaguidance application or, sometimes, a media guidance application or aguidance application.

Interactive media guidance applications may take various forms dependingon the content for which they provide guidance. One typical type ofmedia guidance application is an interactive television program guide.Interactive television program guides (sometimes referred to aselectronic program guides) are well-known guidance applications that,among other things, allow users to navigate among and locate many typesof content or media assets. Interactive media guidance applications maygenerate graphical user interface screens that enable a user to navigateamong, locate and select content. As referred to herein, the terms“media asset” and “content” should be understood to mean anelectronically consumable user asset, such as television programming, aswell as pay-per-view programs, on-demand programs (as in video-on-demand(VOD) systems), Internet content (e.g., streaming content, downloadablecontent, Webcasts, etc.), video clips, audio, content information,pictures, rotating images, text documents, playlists, websites,articles, books, electronic books, blogs, advertisements, chat sessions,social media, applications, games, and/or any other media or multimediaand/or combination of the same. Guidance applications also allow usersto navigate among and locate content. As referred to herein, the term“multimedia” should be understood to mean content that utilizes at leasttwo different content forms described above, for example, text, audio,images, video, or interactivity content forms. Content may be recorded,played, displayed or accessed by user equipment devices, but can also bepart of a live performance.

The media guidance application and/or any instructions for performingany of the embodiments discussed herein may be encoded on computerreadable media. Computer readable media includes any media capable ofstoring data. The computer readable media may be transitory, including,but not limited to, propagating electrical or electromagnetic signals,or may be non-transitory including, but not limited to, volatile andnon-volatile computer memory or storage devices such as a hard disk,floppy disk, USB drive, DVD, CD, media cards, register memory, processorcaches, Random Access Memory (“RAM”), etc.

With the advent of the Internet, mobile computing, and high-speedwireless networks, users are accessing media on user equipment deviceson which they traditionally did not. As referred to herein, the phrase“user equipment device,” “user equipment,” “user device,” “electronicdevice,” “electronic equipment,” “media equipment device,” or “mediadevice” should be understood to mean any device for accessing thecontent described above, such as a television, a Smart TV, a set-topbox, an integrated receiver decoder (IRD) for handling satellitetelevision, a digital storage device, a digital media receiver (DMR), adigital media adapter (DMA), a streaming media device, a DVD player, aDVD recorder, a connected DVD, a local media server, a BLU-RAY player, aBLU-RAY recorder, a personal computer (PC), a laptop computer, a tabletcomputer, a WebTV box, a personal computer television (PC/TV), a PCmedia server, a PC media center, a hand-held computer, a stationarytelephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile telephone, aportable video player, a portable music player, a portable gamingmachine, a smart phone, or any other television equipment, computingequipment, or wireless device, and/or combination of the same. In someembodiments, the user equipment device may have a front facing screenand a rear facing screen, multiple front screens, or multiple angledscreens. In some embodiments, the user equipment device may have a frontfacing camera and/or a rear facing camera. On these user equipmentdevices, users may be able to navigate among and locate the same contentavailable through a television. Consequently, media guidance may beavailable on these devices, as well. The guidance provided may be forcontent available only through a television, for content available onlythrough one or more of other types of user equipment devices, or forcontent available both through a television and one or more of the othertypes of user equipment devices. The media guidance applications may beprovided as on-line applications (i.e., provided on a web-site), or asstand-alone applications or clients on user equipment devices. Variousdevices and platforms that may implement media guidance applications aredescribed in more detail below.

Systems and methods are described herein for presenting user selectedscenes. Although the systems and methods described herein are discussedin relation to video programs, the systems and methods described hereinmay be utilized with any suitable type of media, including, but notlimited to, video, audio, or images. As used herein, “scene” may referto any unit of action or segment of a media asset, typically with aunified theme or topic. For example, a scene may refer to a specificchapter, setting, act, etc., of a media asset. In some embodiments, ascene may correspond to a particular portion of a media asset. Forexample, a particular scene may correspond to a point in the play lengthof the media asset at which the scene begins and a point in the playlength of the media asset at which the scene ends. For example, thebeginning of a scene may correspond to the thirty second mark in theplay length of the media asset and the end of the scene may correspondto the one-minute mark of the play length of the media asset.Accordingly, the portion of the media asset that corresponds to thescene may be the portion of the media asset that corresponds from thethirty second mark in the play length of the media asset to theone-minute mark in the play length of the media asset.

A media guidance application may present user selected scenes bygenerating for display a listing for a media asset, wherein a playlength of the media asset includes a non-selectable play length portionand a selectable play length portion. As used herein, a “portion” of amedia asset may refer to any part, division, fragment, segment, or anyother part of the media asset that is less than the entire media asset.For example, a portion of a media asset may refer to any part of themedia asset with a playback length that is less than the entire playlength of the media asset. A “non-selectable” play length portion may bea portion of the media asset that the end user may not select and/orinteract with. For example, the non-selectable play length portion maybe a portion of the media asset that has been originally selected (e.g.,by the original creator of the media asset or by the content provider)and which may not be replaced by another scene. A “selectable” playlength portion may be a portion of the media asset which an end user mayreplace with an alternate scene. For example, as discussed in furtherdetail below, the media guidance application may generate for displayoptions for alternate scenes, and the end user may select one of thealternate scenes for incorporation into the media asset.

As used herein, a “default” scene may be any scene which is scheduled tobe incorporated into a media asset absent any input from the user. Insome embodiments, the default scene may be a scene that has beenoriginally selected for incorporation into the media asset, for exampleby the original creator of the media asset or by a content provider. An“alternate” scene may be any scene other than the default scene that maybe incorporated into the media asset subsequent to a user request toincorporate the alternate scene. In some embodiments, the alternatescene may replace a corresponding default scene. The alternate scene mayalso have the same playback length as the default scene in order tofacilitate the exchange of the default scene and the alternate scene.

The media guidance application may also generate for display a firstscene option, wherein the first scene option corresponds to a firstscene for incorporation into the selectable play length portion, and asecond scene option, wherein the second scene option corresponds to asecond scene for incorporation into the selectable play length portion.For example, the first scene and the second scene may representalternate scenes with which the user can replace a default scene.

The media guidance application may receive a user selection of the firstscene option or the second scene option. For example, the media guidanceapplication may receive a user selection of a scene that corresponds tothe particular subject matter, viewpoints, characters, plot lines, etc.,with which the user wishes to view while consuming the media asset. Insome embodiments, the user selection may be received before a broadcasttime of the media asset and/or during playback of the media asset.

The media guidance application may further incorporate either theselected first scene or the selected second scene into the selectableplay length portion of the media asset based on the user selection. Forexample, in response to a user selecting an alternate scene thatfeatures a particular character, the media guidance application mayreplace a default scene that features a different character in the mediaasset with the selected alternate scene.

The media guidance application may then generate for display the mediaasset with the either the selected first scene or the selected secondscene incorporated into the selectable play length portion. For example,the media guidance application may begin playback of the media asset inwhich default scenes and any alternate scenes selected by the user areseamlessly intertwined.

In some embodiments, the first scene option may correspond to a defaultscene, and the second scene option may correspond to an alternate scene.For example, a first scene option may correspond to an editor'srecommendation for viewing the media asset, and the second scene maycorrespond to a recommendation from another entity. Alternatively oradditionally, the first scene may represent a scene that isautomatically incorporated into the media asset if a user selection isnot received.

In some embodiments, a play length of the first scene may equal the playlength of the second scene. For example, the incorporation of analternate scene may not affect the total play length of a media assetand/or the point in the play length of the media asset at which adifferent scene is scheduled to be presented.

In some embodiments, the selectable play length portion and/or thenon-selectable play length portion may comprise one or more scenes ofthe media asset, and the selectable play length portion of the mediaasset may correspond to a portion of the play length in which one sceneof a plurality of alternate scenes is incorporated. In some embodiments,the media asset may include a plurality of scenes, and the mediaguidance application may incorporate either the first scene or thesecond scene into the selectable play length portion by including thefirst scene or the second scene in the plurality of scenes. In someembodiments, the non-selectable play length portion and the selectableplay length portion are presented in series during playback of the playlength. For instance, the selectable play length and non-selectable playlength may comprise one or more scenes that are presented in aparticular order during playback of the media asset.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may receive the userselection of the first scene or the second scene by receiving a userselection of an actor, genre, location, or topic that corresponds to theselected first scene or the selected second scene. For example, the usermay indicate a favorite actor, and the media guidance application mayautomatically select either the first scene or the second sceneassociated with the indicated actor. In some embodiments, the mediaguidance application may automatically select a third scene forincorporation into a second selectable play length portion of the mediaasset. The third scene may correspond to either the selected first sceneor the selected second scene. As an illustrative example, the thirdscene and the selected first or second scene may share a commoncharacteristic, such as an actor, genre, theme, topic, or any othersuitable characteristic. In some embodiments, the media guidanceapplication may automatically select the third scene by comparingmetadata associated with the selected first scene or the selected secondscene to metadata associated with the third scene. The media guidanceapplication may automatically select the third scene based on themetadata associated with the selected first scene or the selected secondscene corresponding to the metadata associated with the third scene.

According to some embodiments, the media guidance application maypresent user selected scenes by generating for display a progress barfor a media asset that graphically represents a user's progress througha play length of the media asset. As used herein, a “progress bar” maybe any indicator used to visualize a user's progress through a mediaasset. In some embodiments, a user's progress may be the furthest pointin playback of a media asset that the user has consumed. For example,the progress bar may correspond to an on-screen graphic that indicates apoint in the play length of the media asset at which the user iscurrently viewing.

The media guidance application may determine a location on the progressbar that corresponds to a first point in the play length at which theuser is presented with an option to select one of a first scene and asecond scene for incorporation into the media asset. For example, themedia guidance application may determine that at the 15 minute mark inthe play length of the media asset the user will be presented with theoption to select one or more alternate scenes.

The media guidance application may generate for display a graphicrepresentation of the option at the location. As an illustrativeexample, the media guidance application may overlay onto the progressbar an icon representing either one or both of the first and secondscenes. In some embodiments, the graphic representation of the optionmay be generated for display during playback of the media asset and/orprior to playback of the media asset.

It should be noted that a graphic representation may, in someembodiments, include and/or correspond to video, audio, and/or textualdata. For example, the graphic representation may include any object,sound, and/or word that communicates to a user the presence of and/orlocation of an option to select alternate scenes. For example, in someembodiments, a graphic representation may be located on a progress bar,and the location of the graphic representation on the progress bar mayinform the user of the location of the option. In another example, thegraphic representation (e.g., located next to a listing of a mediaasset) may only inform the user that the media asset includes an optionfor alternate scenes.

In some embodiments, the media asset may continue to play while thegraphic representation is displayed to the user. In some embodiments,playback of the media asset may be automatically paused at the firstpoint in the play length, and the graphic representation of the optionmay be generated for display while the playback of the media asset ispaused. For example, in response to determining that an alternate sceneis available, the media guidance application may pause play back of themedia asset in order to allow the user to select an alternate scene.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may automaticallyselect the first scene for display after a period of time subsequent topausing the playback of the media asset. For example, the media guidanceapplication may wait for a timeout period of time before automaticallyselecting a default scene for display.

In some embodiments, the graphic representation of the option may informthe user about the content of the alternate scenes. For example, thegraphic representation of the option may include a first thumbnailcorresponding to the first scene and a second thumbnail corresponding tothe second scene. Alternatively or additionally, the graphicrepresentation of the option may include a description of the firstscene and a description of the second scene.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may inform the userabout the content of the alternate scenes upon the user selecting agraphic representation of that scene. For example, the media guidanceapplication may generate for display a description of the first sceneand a description of the second scene upon a user selection of thegraphic representation of the option.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may alert the userto the approach of a point in the play length of the media asset atwhich alternate scenes are available. For example, the media guidanceapplication may graphically accentuate the graphic representation of theoption as playback of the media asset nears the first point in the playlength. As used herein, to “graphically accentuate” the graphicrepresentation means any change in visual characteristics of the graphicrepresentation that visually distinguishes the graphic representation.For example, the media guidance application may graphically accentuatethe graphic representation by altering the size, shape, color,animation, or otherwise visually distinguishing the graphicrepresentation. As an illustrative example, the media guidanceapplication may increase the size of the graphic representation by 50%and change the text to bold as playback of the media asset nears thefirst point in the play length.

As another illustrative example, the media guidance application maygenerate for display the graphic icon with only screenshots of thealternate scenes, and as playback nears the first point in the playlength, the media guidance application may increase the size of thegraphic representation and add text descriptions to each of the scenes.As yet another illustrative example, the media guidance application maygenerate for display the graphic representation as a dot overlaid ontothe progress bar. As playback nears the first point in the play length,the media guidance application may change the graphic representation todisplay screenshots of each of the scenes available for incorporation atthe first point. In this manner, the user's attention may be drawntowards the graphic representation before the first point in the playlength in order to receive their input regarding a selectable portion ofthe media asset. It should be noted that in some embodiments a graphicrepresentation may be graphically accentuated by modifying othercharacteristics of the graphic representation. For example, in someembodiments, graphically accentuating a graphic representation mayincluding modifying audio and/or textual data associated with thegraphic representation.

One of the functions of the media guidance application is to providemedia guidance data to users. As referred to herein, the phrase “mediaguidance data” or “guidance data” should be understood to mean any datarelated to content or data used in operating the guidance application.For example, the guidance data may include program information, guidanceapplication settings, user preferences, user profile information, medialistings, media-related information (e.g., broadcast times, broadcastchannels, titles, descriptions, ratings information (e.g., parentalcontrol ratings, critic's ratings, etc.), genre or category information,actor information, logo data for broadcasters' or providers' logos,etc.), media format (e.g., standard definition, high definition, 3D,etc.), advertisement information (e.g., text, images, media clips,etc.), on-demand information, blogs, websites, and any other type ofguidance data that is helpful for a user to navigate among and locatedesired content selections.

FIGS. 1-2 show illustrative display screens that may be used to providemedia guidance data and media assets. The display screens shown in FIGS.1-2 may be implemented on any suitable user equipment device orplatform. While the displays of FIGS. 1-2 are illustrated as full screendisplays, they may also be fully or partially overlaid over contentbeing displayed. A user may indicate a desire to access contentinformation by selecting a selectable option provided in a displayscreen (e.g., a menu option, a listings option, an icon, a hyperlink,etc.) or pressing a dedicated button (e.g., a GUIDE button) on a remotecontrol or other user input interface or device. In response to theuser's indication, the media guidance application may provide a displayscreen with media guidance data organized in one of several ways, suchas by time and channel in a grid, by time, by channel, by source, bycontent type, by category (e.g., movies, sports, news, children, orother categories of programming), or other predefined, user-defined, orother organization criterion.

FIG. 1 shows illustrative grid program listings display 100 arranged bytime and channel that also enables access to different types of contentin a single display. Display 100 may include grid 102 with: (1) a columnof channel/content type identifiers 104, where each channel/content typeidentifier (which is a cell in the column) identifies a differentchannel or content type available; and (2) a row of time identifiers106, where each time identifier (which is a cell in the row) identifiesa time block of programming. Grid 102 also includes cells of programlistings, such as program listing 108, where each listing provides thetitle of the program provided on the listing's associated channel andtime. With a user input device, a user can select program listings bymoving highlight region 110. Information relating to the program listingselected by highlight region 110 may be provided in program informationregion 112. Region 112 may include, for example, the program title, theprogram description, the time the program is provided (if applicable),the channel the program is on (if applicable), the program's rating, andother desired information.

In addition to providing access to linear programming (e.g., contentthat is scheduled to be transmitted to a plurality of user equipmentdevices at a predetermined time and is provided according to aschedule), the media guidance application also provides access tonon-linear programming (e.g., content accessible to a user equipmentdevice at any time and is not provided according to a schedule).Non-linear programming may include content from different contentsources including on-demand content (e.g., VOD), Internet content (e.g.,streaming media, downloadable media, etc.), locally stored content(e.g., content stored on any user equipment device described above orother storage device), or other time-independent content. On-demandcontent may include movies or any other content provided by a particularcontent provider (e.g., HBO On Demand providing “The Sopranos” and “CurbYour Enthusiasm”). HBO ON DEMAND is a service mark owned by Time WarnerCompany L.P. et al. and THE SOPRANOS and CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM aretrademarks owned by the Home Box Office, Inc. Internet content mayinclude web events, such as a chat session or Webcast, or contentavailable on-demand as streaming content or downloadable content throughan Internet web site or other Internet access (e.g. FTP).

Grid 102 may provide media guidance data for non-linear programmingincluding on-demand listing 114, recorded content listing 116, andInternet content listing 118. A display combining media guidance datafor content from different types of content sources is sometimesreferred to as a “mixed-media” display. Various permutations of thetypes of media guidance data that may be displayed that are differentthan display 100 may be based on user selection or guidance applicationdefinition (e.g., a display of only recorded and broadcast listings,only on-demand and broadcast listings, etc.). As illustrated, listings114, 116, and 118 are shown as spanning the entire time block displayedin grid 102 to indicate that selection of these listings may provideaccess to a display dedicated to on-demand listings, recorded listings,or Internet listings, respectively. In some embodiments, listings forthese content types may be included directly in grid 102. Additionalmedia guidance data may be displayed in response to the user selectingone of the navigational icons 120. (Pressing an arrow key on a userinput device may affect the display in a similar manner as selectingnavigational icons 120.)

Display 100 may also include video region 122, advertisement 124, andoptions region 126. Video region 122 may allow the user to view and/orpreview programs that are currently available, will be available, orwere available to the user. The content of video region 122 maycorrespond to, or be independent from, one of the listings displayed ingrid 102. Grid displays including a video region are sometimes referredto as picture-in-guide (PIG) displays. PIG displays and theirfunctionalities are described in greater detail in Satterfield et al.U.S. Pat. No. 6,564,378, issued May 13, 2003 and Yuen et al. U.S. Pat.No. 6,239,794, issued May 29, 2001, which are hereby incorporated byreference herein in their entireties. PIG displays may be included inother media guidance application display screens of the embodimentsdescribed herein.

Advertisement 124 may provide an advertisement for content that,depending on a viewer's access rights (e.g., for subscriptionprogramming), is currently available for viewing, will be available forviewing in the future, or may never become available for viewing, andmay correspond to or be unrelated to one or more of the content listingsin grid 102. Advertisement 124 may also be for products or servicesrelated or unrelated to the content displayed in grid 102. Advertisement124 may be selectable and provide further information about content,provide information about a product or a service, enable purchasing ofcontent, a product, or a service, provide content relating to theadvertisement, etc. Advertisement 124 may be targeted based on a user'sprofile/preferences, monitored user activity, the type of displayprovided, or on other suitable targeted advertisement bases.

While advertisement 124 is shown as rectangular or banner shaped,advertisements may be provided in any suitable size, shape, and locationin a guidance application display. For example, advertisement 124 may beprovided as a rectangular shape that is horizontally adjacent to grid102. This is sometimes referred to as a panel advertisement. Inaddition, advertisements may be overlaid over content or a guidanceapplication display or embedded within a display. Advertisements mayalso include text, images, rotating images, video clips, or other typesof content described above. Advertisements may be stored in a userequipment device having a guidance application, in a database connectedto the user equipment, in a remote location (including streaming mediaservers), or on other storage means, or a combination of theselocations. Providing advertisements in a media guidance application isdiscussed in greater detail in, for example, Knudson et al., U.S. PatentApplication Publication No. 2003/0110499, filed Jan. 17, 2003; Ward, IIIet al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,756,997, issued Jun. 29, 2004; and Schein et al.U.S. Pat. No. 6,388,714, issued May 14, 2002, which are herebyincorporated by reference herein in their entireties. It will beappreciated that advertisements may be included in other media guidanceapplication display screens of the embodiments described herein.

Options region 126 may allow the user to access different types ofcontent, media guidance application displays, and/or media guidanceapplication features. Options region 126 may be part of display 100 (andother display screens described herein), or may be invoked by a user byselecting an on-screen option or pressing a dedicated or assignablebutton on a user input device. The selectable options within optionsregion 126 may concern features related to program listings in grid 102or may include options available from a main menu display. Featuresrelated to program listings may include searching for other air times orways of receiving a program, recording a program, enabling seriesrecording of a program, setting program and/or channel as a favorite,purchasing a program, or other features. Options available from a mainmenu display may include search options, VOD options, parental controloptions, Internet options, cloud-based options, device synchronizationoptions, second screen device options, options to access various typesof media guidance data displays, options to subscribe to a premiumservice, options to edit a user's profile, options to access a browseoverlay, or other options.

The media guidance application may be personalized based on a user'spreferences. A personalized media guidance application allows a user tocustomize displays and features to create a personalized “experience”with the media guidance application. This personalized experience may becreated by allowing a user to input these customizations and/or by themedia guidance application monitoring user activity to determine varioususer preferences. Users may access their personalized guidanceapplication by logging in or otherwise identifying themselves to theguidance application. Customization of the media guidance applicationmay be made in accordance with a user profile. The customizations mayinclude varying presentation schemes (e.g., color scheme of displays,font size of text, etc.), aspects of content listings displayed (e.g.,only HDTV or only 3D programming, user-specified broadcast channelsbased on favorite channel selections, re-ordering the display ofchannels, recommended content, etc.), desired recording features (e.g.,recording or series recordings for particular users, recording quality,etc.), parental control settings, customized presentation of Internetcontent (e.g., presentation of social media content, e-mail,electronically delivered articles, etc.) and other desiredcustomizations.

The media guidance application may allow a user to provide user profileinformation or may automatically compile user profile information. Themedia guidance application may, for example, monitor the content theuser accesses and/or other interactions the user may have with theguidance application. Additionally, the media guidance application mayobtain all or part of other user profiles that are related to aparticular user (e.g., from other web sites on the Internet the useraccesses, such as www.allrovi.com, from other media guidanceapplications the user accesses, from other interactive applications theuser accesses, from another user equipment device of the user, etc.),and/or obtain information about the user from other sources that themedia guidance application may access. As a result, a user can beprovided with a unified guidance application experience across theuser's different user equipment devices. This type of user experience isdescribed in greater detail below in connection with FIG. 4. Additionalpersonalized media guidance application features are described ingreater detail in Ellis et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication No.2005/0251827, filed Jul. 11, 2005, Boyer et al., U.S. Pat. No.7,165,098, issued Jan. 16, 2007, and Ellis et al., U.S. PatentApplication Publication No. 2002/0174430, filed Feb. 21, 2002, which arehereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.

Another display arrangement for providing media guidance is shown inFIG. 2. Video mosaic display 200 includes selectable options 202 forcontent information organized based on content type, genre, and/or otherorganization criterion. In display 200, television listings option 204is selected, thus providing listings 206, 208, 210, and 212 as broadcastprogram listings. In display 200 the listings may provide graphicalimages including cover art, still images from the content, video clippreviews, live video from the content, or other types of content thatindicate to a user the content being described by the media guidancedata in the listing. Each of the graphical listings may also beaccompanied by text to provide further information about the contentassociated with the listing. For example, listing 208 may include morethan one portion, including media portion 214 and text portion 216.Media portion 214 and/or text portion 216 may be selectable to viewcontent in full-screen or to view information related to the contentdisplayed in media portion 214 (e.g., to view listings for the channelthat the video is displayed on).

The listings in display 200 are of different sizes (i.e., listing 206 islarger than listings 208, 210, and 212), but if desired, all thelistings may be the same size. Listings may be of different sizes orgraphically accentuated to indicate degrees of interest to the user orto emphasize certain content, as desired by the content provider orbased on user preferences. Various systems and methods for graphicallyaccentuating content listings are discussed in, for example, Yates, U.S.Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0153885, filed Dec. 29, 2005,which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

Users may access content and the media guidance application (and itsdisplay screens described above and below) from one or more of theiruser equipment devices. FIG. 3 shows a generalized embodiment ofillustrative user equipment device 300. More specific implementations ofuser equipment devices are discussed below in connection with FIG. 4.User equipment device 300 may receive content and data via input/output(hereinafter “I/O”) path 302. I/O path 302 may provide content (e.g.,broadcast programming, on-demand programming, Internet content, contentavailable over a local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN),and/or other content) and data to control circuitry 304, which includesprocessing circuitry 306 and storage 308. Control circuitry 304 may beused to send and receive commands, requests, and other suitable datausing I/O path 302. I/O path 302 may connect control circuitry 304 (andspecifically processing circuitry 306) to one or more communicationspaths (described below). I/O functions may be provided by one or more ofthese communications paths, but are shown as a single path in FIG. 3 toavoid overcomplicating the drawing.

Control circuitry 304 may be based on any suitable processing circuitrysuch as processing circuitry 306. As referred to herein, processingcircuitry should be understood to mean circuitry based on one or moremicroprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors,programmable logic devices, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs),application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc., and may includea multi-core processor (e.g., dual-core, quad-core, hexa-core, or anysuitable number of cores) or supercomputer. In some embodiments,processing circuitry may be distributed across multiple separateprocessors or processing units, for example, multiple of the same typeof processing units (e.g., two Intel Core i7 processors) or multipledifferent processors (e.g., an Intel Core i5 processor and an Intel Corei7 processor). In some embodiments, control circuitry 304 executesinstructions for a media guidance application stored in memory (i.e.,storage 308). Specifically, control circuitry 304 may be instructed bythe media guidance application to perform the functions discussed aboveand below. For example, the media guidance application may provideinstructions to control circuitry 304 to generate the media guidancedisplays. In some implementations, any action performed by controlcircuitry 304 may be based on instructions received from the mediaguidance application.

In client-server based embodiments, control circuitry 304 may includecommunications circuitry suitable for communicating with a guidanceapplication server or other networks or servers. The instructions forcarrying out the above mentioned functionality may be stored on theguidance application server. Communications circuitry may include acable modem, an integrated services digital network (ISDN) modem, adigital subscriber line (DSL) modem, a telephone modem, Ethernet card,or a wireless modem for communications with other equipment, or anyother suitable communications circuitry. Such communications may involvethe Internet or any other suitable communications networks or paths(which is described in more detail in connection with FIG. 4). Inaddition, communications circuitry may include circuitry that enablespeer-to-peer communication of user equipment devices, or communicationof user equipment devices in locations remote from each other (describedin more detail below).

Memory may be an electronic storage device provided as storage 308 thatis part of control circuitry 304. As referred to herein, the phrase“electronic storage device” or “storage device” should be understood tomean any device for storing electronic data, computer software, orfirmware, such as random-access memory, read-only memory, hard drives,optical drives, digital video disc (DVD) recorders, compact disc (CD)recorders, BLU-RAY disc (BD) recorders, BLU-RAY 3D disc recorders,digital video recorders (DVR, sometimes called a personal videorecorder, or PVR), solid state devices, quantum storage devices, gamingconsoles, gaming media, or any other suitable fixed or removable storagedevices, and/or any combination of the same. Storage 308 may be used tostore various types of content described herein as well as mediaguidance data described above. Nonvolatile memory may also be used(e.g., to launch a boot-up routine and other instructions). Cloud-basedstorage, described in relation to FIG. 4, may be used to supplementstorage 308 or instead of storage 308.

Control circuitry 304 may include video generating circuitry and tuningcircuitry, such as one or more analog tuners, one or more MPEG-2decoders or other digital decoding circuitry, high-definition tuners, orany other suitable tuning or video circuits or combinations of suchcircuits. Encoding circuitry (e.g., for converting over-the-air, analog,or digital signals to MPEG signals for storage) may also be provided.Control circuitry 304 may also include scaler circuitry for upconvertingand downconverting content into the preferred output format of the userequipment 300. Circuitry 304 may also include digital-to-analogconverter circuitry and analog-to-digital converter circuitry forconverting between digital and analog signals. The tuning and encodingcircuitry may be used by the user equipment device to receive and todisplay, to play, or to record content. The tuning and encodingcircuitry may also be used to receive guidance data. The circuitrydescribed herein, including for example, the tuning, video generating,encoding, decoding, encrypting, decrypting, scaler, and analog/digitalcircuitry, may be implemented using software running on one or moregeneral purpose or specialized processors. Multiple tuners may beprovided to handle simultaneous tuning functions (e.g., watch and recordfunctions, picture-in-picture (PIP) functions, multiple-tuner recording,etc.). If storage 308 is provided as a separate device from userequipment 300, the tuning and encoding circuitry (including multipletuners) may be associated with storage 308.

A user may send instructions to control circuitry 304 using user inputinterface 310. User input interface 310 may be any suitable userinterface, such as a remote control, mouse, trackball, keypad, keyboard,touch screen, touchpad, stylus input, joystick, voice recognitioninterface, or other user input interfaces. Display 312 may be providedas a stand-alone device or integrated with other elements of userequipment device 300. For example, display 312 may be a touchscreen ortouch-sensitive display. In such circumstances, user input interface 310may be integrated with or combined with display 312. Display 312 may beone or more of a monitor, a television, a liquid crystal display (LCD)for a mobile device, amorphous silicon display, low temperature polysilicon display, electronic ink display, electrophoretic display, activematrix display, electro-wetting display, electrofluidic display, cathoderay tube display, light-emitting diode display, electroluminescentdisplay, plasma display panel, high-performance addressing display,thin-film transistor display, organic light-emitting diode display,surface-conduction electron-emitter display (SED), laser television,carbon nanotubes, quantum dot display, interferometric modulatordisplay, or any other suitable equipment for displaying visual images.In some embodiments, display 312 may be HDTV-capable. In someembodiments, display 312 may be a 3D display, and the interactive mediaguidance application and any suitable content may be displayed in 3D. Avideo card or graphics card may generate the output to the display 312.The video card may offer various functions such as accelerated renderingof 3D scenes and 2D graphics, MPEG-2/MPEG-4 decoding, TV output, or theability to connect multiple monitors. The video card may be anyprocessing circuitry described above in relation to control circuitry304. The video card may be integrated with the control circuitry 304.Speakers 314 may be provided as integrated with other elements of userequipment device 300 or may be stand-alone units. The audio component ofvideos and other content displayed on display 312 may be played throughspeakers 314. In some embodiments, the audio may be distributed to areceiver (not shown), which processes and outputs the audio via speakers314.

The guidance application may be implemented using any suitablearchitecture. For example, it may be a stand-alone application whollyimplemented on user equipment device 300. In such an approach,instructions of the application are stored locally (e.g., in storage308), and data for use by the application is downloaded on a periodicbasis (e.g., from an out-of-band feed, from an Internet resource, orusing another suitable approach). Control circuitry 304 may retrieveinstructions of the application from storage 308 and process theinstructions to generate any of the displays discussed herein. Based onthe processed instructions, control circuitry 304 may determine whataction to perform when input is received from input interface 310. Forexample, movement of a cursor on a display up/down may be indicated bythe processed instructions when input interface 310 indicates that anup/down button was selected.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application is a client-serverbased application. Data for use by a thick or thin client implemented onuser equipment device 300 is retrieved on-demand by issuing requests toa server remote to the user equipment device 300. In one example of aclient-server based guidance application, control circuitry 304 runs aweb browser that interprets web pages provided by a remote server. Forexample, the remote server may store the instructions for theapplication in a storage device. The remote server may process thestored instructions using circuitry (e.g., control circuitry 304) andgenerate the displays discussed above and below. The client device mayreceive the displays generated by the remote server and may display thecontent of the displays locally on equipment device 300. This way, theprocessing of the instructions is performed remotely by the server whilethe resulting displays are provided locally on equipment device 300.Equipment device 300 may receive inputs from the user via inputinterface 310 and transmit those inputs to the remote server forprocessing and generating the corresponding displays. For example,equipment device 300 may transmit a communication to the remote serverindicating that an up/down button was selected via input interface 310.The remote server may process instructions in accordance with that inputand generate a display of the application corresponding to the input(e.g., a display that moves a cursor up/down). The generated display isthen transmitted to equipment device 300 for presentation to the user.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application is downloaded andinterpreted or otherwise run by an interpreter or virtual machine (runby control circuitry 304). In some embodiments, the guidance applicationmay be encoded in the ETV Binary Interchange Format (EBIF), received bycontrol circuitry 304 as part of a suitable feed, and interpreted by auser agent running on control circuitry 304. For example, the guidanceapplication may be an EBIF application. In some embodiments, theguidance application may be defined by a series of JAVA-based files thatare received and run by a local virtual machine or other suitablemiddleware executed by control circuitry 304. In some of suchembodiments (e.g., those employing MPEG-2 or other digital mediaencoding schemes), the guidance application may be, for example, encodedand transmitted in an MPEG-2 object carousel with the MPEG audio andvideo packets of a program.

User equipment device 300 of FIG. 3 can be implemented in system 400 ofFIG. 4 as user television equipment 402, user computer equipment 404,wireless user communications device 406, or any other type of userequipment suitable for accessing content, such as a non-portable gamingmachine. For simplicity, these devices may be referred to hereincollectively as user equipment or user equipment devices, and may besubstantially similar to user equipment devices described above. Userequipment devices, on which a media guidance application may beimplemented, may function as a standalone device or may be part of anetwork of devices. Various network configurations of devices may beimplemented and are discussed in more detail below.

A user equipment device utilizing at least some of the system featuresdescribed above in connection with FIG. 3 may not be classified solelyas user television equipment 402, user computer equipment 404, or awireless user communications device 406. For example, user televisionequipment 402 may, like some user computer equipment 404, beInternet-enabled allowing for access to Internet content, while usercomputer equipment 404 may, like some television equipment 402, includea tuner allowing for access to television programming. The mediaguidance application may have the same layout on various different typesof user equipment or may be tailored to the display capabilities of theuser equipment. For example, on user computer equipment 404, theguidance application may be provided as a web site accessed by a webbrowser. In another example, the guidance application may be scaled downfor wireless user communications devices 406.

In system 400, there is typically more than one of each type of userequipment device but only one of each is shown in FIG. 4 to avoidovercomplicating the drawing. In addition, each user may utilize morethan one type of user equipment device and also more than one of eachtype of user equipment device.

In some embodiments, a user equipment device (e.g., user televisionequipment 402, user computer equipment 404, wireless user communicationsdevice 406) may be referred to as a “second screen device.” For example,a second screen device may supplement content presented on a first userequipment device. The content presented on the second screen device maybe any suitable content that supplements the content presented on thefirst device. In some embodiments, the second screen device provides aninterface for adjusting settings and display preferences of the firstdevice. In some embodiments, the second screen device is configured forinteracting with other second screen devices or for interacting with asocial network. The second screen device can be located in the same roomas the first device, a different room from the first device but in thesame house or building, or in a different building from the firstdevice.

The user may also set various settings to maintain consistent mediaguidance application settings across in-home devices and remote devices.Settings include those described herein, as well as channel and programfavorites, programming preferences that the guidance applicationutilizes to make programming recommendations, display preferences, andother desirable guidance settings. For example, if a user sets a channelas a favorite on, for example, the web site www.allrovi.com on theirpersonal computer at their office, the same channel would appear as afavorite on the user's in-home devices (e.g., user television equipmentand user computer equipment) as well as the user's mobile devices, ifdesired. Therefore, changes made on one user equipment device can changethe guidance experience on another user equipment device, regardless ofwhether they are the same or a different type of user equipment device.In addition, the changes made may be based on settings input by a user,as well as user activity monitored by the guidance application.

The user equipment devices may be coupled to communications network 414.Namely, user television equipment 402, user computer equipment 404, andwireless user communications device 406 are coupled to communicationsnetwork 414 via communications paths 408, 410, and 412, respectively.Communications network 414 may be one or more networks including theInternet, a mobile phone network, mobile voice or data network (e.g., a4G or LTE network), cable network, public switched telephone network, orother types of communications network or combinations of communicationsnetworks. Paths 408, 410, and 412 may separately or together include oneor more communications paths, such as, a satellite path, a fiber-opticpath, a cable path, a path that supports Internet communications (e.g.,IPTV), free-space connections (e.g., for broadcast or other wirelesssignals), or any other suitable wired or wireless communications path orcombination of such paths. Path 412 is drawn with dotted lines toindicate that in the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 4 it is awireless path and paths 408 and 410 are drawn as solid lines to indicatethey are wired paths (although these paths may be wireless paths, ifdesired). Communications with the user equipment devices may be providedby one or more of these communications paths, but are shown as a singlepath in FIG. 4 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing.

Although communications paths are not drawn between user equipmentdevices, these devices may communicate directly with each other viacommunication paths, such as those described above in connection withpaths 408, 410, and 412, as well as other short-range point-to-pointcommunication paths, such as USB cables, IEEE 1394 cables, wirelesspaths (e.g., Bluetooth, infrared, IEEE 802-11x, etc.), or othershort-range communication via wired or wireless paths. BLUETOOTH is acertification mark owned by Bluetooth SIG, INC. The user equipmentdevices may also communicate with each other directly through anindirect path via communications network 414.

System 400 includes content source 416 and media guidance data source418 coupled to communications network 414 via communication paths 420and 422, respectively. Paths 420 and 422 may include any of thecommunication paths described above in connection with paths 408, 410,and 412. Communications with the content source 416 and media guidancedata source 418 may be exchanged over one or more communications paths,but are shown as a single path in FIG. 4 to avoid overcomplicating thedrawing. In addition, there may be more than one of each of contentsource 416 and media guidance data source 418, but only one of each isshown in FIG. 4 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing. (The differenttypes of each of these sources are discussed below.) If desired, contentsource 416 and media guidance data source 418 may be integrated as onesource device. Although communications between sources 416 and 418 withuser equipment devices 402, 404, and 406 are shown as throughcommunications network 414, in some embodiments, sources 416 and 418 maycommunicate directly with user equipment devices 402, 404, and 406 viacommunication paths (not shown) such as those described above inconnection with paths 408, 410, and 412.

Content source 416 may include one or more types of content distributionequipment including a television distribution facility, cable systemheadend, satellite distribution facility, programming sources (e.g.,television broadcasters, such as NBC, ABC, HBO, etc.), intermediatedistribution facilities and/or servers, Internet providers, on-demandmedia servers, and other content providers. NBC is a trademark owned bythe National Broadcasting Company, Inc., ABC is a trademark owned by theAmerican Broadcasting Company, Inc., and HBO is a trademark owned by theHome Box Office, Inc. Content source 416 may be the originator ofcontent (e.g., a television broadcaster, a Webcast provider, etc.) ormay not be the originator of content (e.g., an on-demand contentprovider, an Internet provider of content of broadcast programs fordownloading, etc.). Content source 416 may include cable sources,satellite providers, on-demand providers, Internet providers,over-the-top content providers, or other providers of content. Contentsource 416 may also include a remote media server used to storedifferent types of content (including video content selected by a user),in a location remote from any of the user equipment devices. Systems andmethods for remote storage of content, and providing remotely storedcontent to user equipment are discussed in greater detail in connectionwith Ellis et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,761,892, issued Jul. 20, 2010, whichis hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

Media guidance data source 418 may provide media guidance data, such asthe media guidance data described above. Media guidance data may beprovided to the user equipment devices using any suitable approach. Insome embodiments, the guidance application may be a stand-aloneinteractive television program guide that receives program guide datavia a data feed (e.g., a continuous feed or trickle feed).

Program schedule data and other guidance data may be provided to theuser equipment on a television channel sideband, using an in-banddigital signal, using an out-of-band digital signal, or by any othersuitable data transmission technique. Program schedule data and othermedia guidance data may be provided to user equipment on multiple analogor digital television channels.

In some embodiments, guidance data from media guidance data source 418may be provided to users' equipment using a client-server approach. Forexample, a user equipment device may pull media guidance data from aserver, or a server may push media guidance data to a user equipmentdevice. In some embodiments, a guidance application client residing onthe user's equipment may initiate sessions with source 418 to obtainguidance data when needed, e.g., when the guidance data is out of dateor when the user equipment device receives a request from the user toreceive data. Media guidance may be provided to the user equipment withany suitable frequency (e.g., continuously, daily, a user-specifiedperiod of time, a system-specified period of time, in response to arequest from user equipment, etc.). Media guidance data source 418 mayprovide user equipment devices 402, 404, and 406 the media guidanceapplication itself or software updates for the media guidanceapplication.

In some embodiments, the media guidance data may include viewer data.For example, the viewer data may include current and/or historical useractivity information (e.g., what content the user typically watches,what times of day the user watches content, whether the user interactswith a social network, at what times the user interacts with a socialnetwork to post information, what types of content the user typicallywatches (e.g., pay TV or free TV), mood, brain activity information,etc.). The media guidance data may also include subscription data. Forexample, the subscription data may identify to which sources or servicesa given user subscribes and/or to which sources or services the givenuser has previously subscribed but later terminated access (e.g.,whether the user subscribes to premium channels, whether the user hasadded a premium level of services, whether the user has increasedInternet speed). In some embodiments, the viewer data and/or thesubscription data may identify patterns of a given user for a period ofmore than one year. The media guidance data may include a model (e.g., asurvivor model) used for generating a score that indicates a likelihooda given user will terminate access to a service/source. For example, themedia guidance application may process the viewer data with thesubscription data using the model to generate a value or score thatindicates a likelihood of whether the given user will terminate accessto a particular service or source. In particular, a higher score mayindicate a higher level of confidence that the user will terminateaccess to a particular service or source. Based on the score, the mediaguidance application may generate promotions and advertisements thatentice the user to keep the particular service or source indicated bythe score as one to which the user will likely terminate access.

Media guidance applications may be, for example, stand-aloneapplications implemented on user equipment devices. For example, themedia guidance application may be implemented as software or a set ofexecutable instructions which may be stored in storage 308, and executedby control circuitry 304 of a user equipment device 300. In someembodiments, media guidance applications may be client-serverapplications where only a client application resides on the userequipment device, and server application resides on a remote server. Forexample, media guidance applications may be implemented partially as aclient application on control circuitry 304 of user equipment device 300and partially on a remote server as a server application (e.g., mediaguidance data source 418) running on control circuitry of the remoteserver. When executed by control circuitry of the remote server (such asmedia guidance data source 418), the media guidance application mayinstruct the control circuitry to generate the guidance applicationdisplays and transmit the generated displays to the user equipmentdevices. The server application may instruct the control circuitry ofthe media guidance data source 418 to transmit data for storage on theuser equipment. The client application may instruct control circuitry ofthe receiving user equipment to generate the guidance applicationdisplays.

Content and/or media guidance data delivered to user equipment devices402, 404, and 406 may be over-the-top (OTT) content. OTT contentdelivery allows Internet-enabled user devices, including any userequipment device described above, to receive content that is transferredover the Internet, including any content described above, in addition tocontent received over cable or satellite connections. OTT content isdelivered via an Internet connection provided by an Internet serviceprovider (ISP), but a third party distributes the content. The ISP maynot be responsible for the viewing abilities, copyrights, orredistribution of the content, and may only transfer IP packets providedby the OTT content provider. Examples of OTT content providers includeYOUTUBE, NETFLIX, and HULU, which provide audio and video via IPpackets. Youtube is a trademark owned by Google Inc., Netflix is atrademark owned by Netflix Inc., and Hulu is a trademark owned by Hulu,LLC. OTT content providers may additionally or alternatively providemedia guidance data described above. In addition to content and/or mediaguidance data, providers of OTT content can distribute media guidanceapplications (e.g., web-based applications or cloud-based applications),or the content can be displayed by media guidance applications stored onthe user equipment device.

Media guidance system 400 is intended to illustrate a number ofapproaches, or network configurations, by which user equipment devicesand sources of content and guidance data may communicate with each otherfor the purpose of accessing content and providing media guidance. Theembodiments described herein may be applied in any one or a subset ofthese approaches, or in a system employing other approaches fordelivering content and providing media guidance. The following fourapproaches provide specific illustrations of the generalized example ofFIG. 4.

In one approach, user equipment devices may communicate with each otherwithin a home network. User equipment devices can communicate with eachother directly via short-range point-to-point communication schemesdescribed above, via indirect paths through a hub or other similardevice provided on a home network, or via communications network 414.Each of the multiple individuals in a single home may operate differentuser equipment devices on the home network. As a result, it may bedesirable for various media guidance information or settings to becommunicated between the different user equipment devices. For example,it may be desirable for users to maintain consistent media guidanceapplication settings on different user equipment devices within a homenetwork, as described in greater detail in Ellis et al., U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/179,410, filed Jul. 11, 2005. Different types ofuser equipment devices in a home network may also communicate with eachother to transmit content. For example, a user may transmit content fromuser computer equipment to a portable video player or portable musicplayer.

In a second approach, users may have multiple types of user equipment bywhich they access content and obtain media guidance. For example, someusers may have home networks that are accessed by in-home and mobiledevices. Users may control in-home devices via a media guidanceapplication implemented on a remote device. For example, users mayaccess an online media guidance application on a website via a personalcomputer at their office, or a mobile device such as a PDA orweb-enabled mobile telephone. The user may set various settings (e.g.,recordings, reminders, or other settings) on the online guidanceapplication to control the user's in-home equipment. The online guidemay control the user's equipment directly, or by communicating with amedia guidance application on the user's in-home equipment. Varioussystems and methods for user equipment devices communicating, where theuser equipment devices are in locations remote from each other, isdiscussed in, for example, Ellis et al., U.S. Pat. No. 8,046,801, issuedOct. 25, 2011, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety.

In a third approach, users of user equipment devices inside and outsidea home can use their media guidance application to communicate directlywith content source 416 to access content. Specifically, within a home,users of user television equipment 402 and user computer equipment 404may access the media guidance application to navigate among and locatedesirable content. Users may also access the media guidance applicationoutside of the home using wireless user communications devices 406 tonavigate among and locate desirable content.

In a fourth approach, user equipment devices may operate in a cloudcomputing environment to access cloud services. In a cloud computingenvironment, various types of computing services for content sharing,storage or distribution (e.g., video sharing sites or social networkingsites) are provided by a collection of network-accessible computing andstorage resources, referred to as “the cloud.” For example, the cloudcan include a collection of server computing devices, which may belocated centrally or at distributed locations, that provide cloud-basedservices to various types of users and devices connected via a networksuch as the Internet via communications network 414. These cloudresources may include one or more content sources 416 and one or moremedia guidance data sources 418. In addition or in the alternative, theremote computing sites may include other user equipment devices, such asuser television equipment 402, user computer equipment 404, and wirelessuser communications device 406. For example, the other user equipmentdevices may provide access to a stored copy of a video or a streamedvideo. In such embodiments, user equipment devices may operate in apeer-to-peer manner without communicating with a central server.

The cloud provides access to services, such as content storage, contentsharing, or social networking services, among other examples, as well asaccess to any content described above, for user equipment devices.Services can be provided in the cloud through cloud computing serviceproviders, or through other providers of online services. For example,the cloud-based services can include a content storage service, acontent sharing site, a social networking site, or other services viawhich user-sourced content is distributed for viewing by others onconnected devices. These cloud-based services may allow a user equipmentdevice to store content to the cloud and to receive content from thecloud rather than storing content locally and accessing locally-storedcontent.

A user may use various content capture devices, such as camcorders,digital cameras with video mode, audio recorders, mobile phones, andhandheld computing devices, to record content. The user can uploadcontent to a content storage service on the cloud either directly, forexample, from user computer equipment 404 or wireless usercommunications device 406 having content capture feature. Alternatively,the user can first transfer the content to a user equipment device, suchas user computer equipment 404. The user equipment device storing thecontent uploads the content to the cloud using a data transmissionservice on communications network 414. In some embodiments, the userequipment device itself is a cloud resource, and other user equipmentdevices can access the content directly from the user equipment deviceon which the user stored the content.

Cloud resources may be accessed by a user equipment device using, forexample, a web browser, a media guidance application, a desktopapplication, a mobile application, and/or any combination of accessapplications of the same. The user equipment device may be a cloudclient that relies on cloud computing for application delivery, or theuser equipment device may have some functionality without access tocloud resources. For example, some applications running on the userequipment device may be cloud applications, i.e., applications deliveredas a service over the Internet, while other applications may be storedand run on the user equipment device. In some embodiments, a user devicemay receive content from multiple cloud resources simultaneously. Forexample, a user device can stream audio from one cloud resource whiledownloading content from a second cloud resource. Or a user device candownload content from multiple cloud resources for more efficientdownloading. In some embodiments, user equipment devices can use cloudresources for processing operations such as the processing operationsperformed by processing circuitry described in relation to FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 shows an illustrative screen 500 for selecting user selectedscenes in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. Screen 500may include website 502, scene option A 504, scene option B 506, sceneoption C 508, and scene option D 510. Although screen 500 is depicted inFIG. 5 as being a website, screen 500 may be displayed in any suitablemanner on any suitable user equipment, including, but not limited to, auser's television set top box, personal computer, mobile device, ortablet. For instance, screen 500 may be generated by a media guidanceapplication running on a user's set top box in response to a user input.

Each of scene options 504 through 510 may correspond to a respectivealternate scene. The user may select one of the four scene options 504through 510 depicted on website 502. In some embodiments, the sceneoptions may depict screenshots of the corresponding scene. For instance,the scene options 504 through 510 may depict an image or a short videoclip of actual footage of the corresponding scene. In some embodiments,the scene options may depict images of video associated with thecorresponding scene. For instance, each of the scene options 504 through510 may depict an image or a short clip of a different character that isdepicted in the corresponding scene. In this manner, the user may selectscene(s) corresponding to a favorite character depicted in thetelevision program. In some embodiments, each of scene options 504through 510 corresponds to a series of scenes. In such embodiments, theuser may input a single selection (e.g., the selection of a favoritecharacter, theme, topic, or idea), and the media guidance applicationmay automatically apply the selection to any option to select alternatescenes.

In some embodiments, the user selection may be transmitted to a contentprovider. In some embodiments, the user selection may be stored in auser profile associated with the user. For example, if the user selectsoption 504, then the user selection may be transmitted to a contentprovider, and the content provider may ensure that the media asset isprovided to the user with scene A corresponding to option 504. In someembodiments, the content provider may transmit the media asset withscene A incorporated into the media asset. In some embodiments, thecontent provider may transmit the media asset with scene A and one ormore of scenes B, C, and D. The content provider may also transmit dataindicating the user selection of option 504. The user equipment mayreceive the media asset with scene A, one or more of scenes B, C, and D,and the data indicating the user selection, and based on the dataindicating the user selection, generate for display the media asset withscene A incorporated at the appropriate point in playback.

In some embodiments, the user selection may be received with selectionsfrom other users, and either the first scene or the second scene may beselected based on the plurality of received user selections. Forexample, one or more users may select a particular scene from aplurality of available scenes for incorporation in a media asset. Themedia guidance application may determine which scene of the plurality ofscenes was the most popular and incorporate that scene. In this manner,a user may “vote” for a scene for incorporation into the media asset,with the votes of a plurality of users being combined to select the mostpopular scene for incorporation into the media asset.

In some embodiments, the users that may select a particular scene may beassociated with a particular group. For example, an option to vote for aparticular scene may appear on a social network site associated with auser. For example, the option may be posted on a social network site andvoted on by the social network friends of a user. In some embodiments,the social network site and/or the media guidance application may storeuser selections of alternate scenes and provide this information toother individuals in the user's social network. For example, the mediaguidance application may allow a user to choose similar or the samealternate scenes as those that a friend in a social network has chosen.As used herein, a “social network,” refers to a platform thatfacilitates networking and/or social relations among people who, forexample, share interests, activities, backgrounds, and/or real-lifeconnections. In some cases, social networks may facilitate communicationbetween multiple user devices (e.g., computers, televisions,smartphones, tablets, etc.) associated with different users byexchanging content from one device to another via a social media server.As used herein, a “social media server” refers to a computer server thatfacilitates a social network. For example, a social media serverowned/operated/used by a social media provider may make content (e.g.,status updates, microblog posts, images, graphic messages, etc.)associated with a first user accessible to a second user that is withinthe same social network as the first user.

In some embodiments, the playback length of scenes A, B, C, and D may bethe same. In such embodiments, scenes A, B, C, and D may be interchangedwithout affecting the overall play length of the media asset. In otherembodiments, one or more of the scenes A, B, C, and D may have adifferent play length than the other scenes. In such embodiments, theincorporation of some of the scenes A, B, C, and D may cause the overallplay length of the media asset to become longer and shorter, dependingon which scene was incorporated into the media asset. For example, sceneA may be a default scene with a playback length of 10 minutes. Scene Bmay be an alternate scene with a playback length of 15 minutes. If sceneB is incorporated into the media asset instead of scene A, then theoverall media asset may have a play length that is lengthened by fiveminutes. In some embodiments, the playback speed of an alternate scenemay be adjusted (i.e., either slower of faster) in order to match aplayback length of a default scene. Continuing the illustrative examplefrom above, the playback speed of Scene B may be sped up by 33% in orderto be incorporated into a 10 minute slot in the media asset, and thusmaintain the default playback length (as if scene A were incorporatedinto the media asset).

FIG. 6 shows an illustrative media progress screen 600 in accordancewith some embodiments of the disclosure. Media progress screen 600 maycomprise media asset display area 602, progress bar 606, a progressindicator 604, and alternate scenes icon 608. The media asset displayarea 602 may comprise any suitable display area for presenting a mediaasset, and, in some embodiments, may comprise a majority of the displayspace available on display 312. In the illustrative example depicted inFIG. 6, the progress bar 606, progress indicator 604, and alternatescenes icon 608 are overlaid on top of the media asset display area 602during playback of a media asset.

The progress bar 606 may comprise any suitable graphical icon thatrepresents a play length of a media asset. While the progress bar 606 isdepicted in FIG. 6 as a bar, the progress bar 606 could conceivably beany suitable shape, size, or color that is capable of representing aplay length, including, but not limited to, a pie graph, a bar graph, ora timeline. The progress indicator 604 may indicate the user's currentprogress through the play length of the media asset. In someembodiments, the progress indicator 604 may be overlaid, eitherpartially or completely, over the progress bar 606 during playback ofthe media asset. The progress indicator 604 may indicate the user'sprogress through the media asset. In some embodiments, the progressindicator 604 may be a graphical icon (e.g., dot, dash, vertical line,star, square, or other shape) that indicates the furthest point that auser has consumed in the media asset. In some embodiments, the progressindicator 604 may be displayed at any time the progress bar 606 isdisplayed. For example, the progress bar 606 and progress indicator 604may be displayed during playback of the media asset. In otherembodiments, the progress bar 606 and the progress indicator 604 may bedisplayed at the start of playback of the media asset and may fade outafter a period of time (e.g., 10 seconds). In some embodiments, theprogress bar 606 and progress indicator 604 may by displayed in responseto a user input, such as pressing a button on a remote control, or whenplayback of the media asset approaches a selectable portion of the mediaasset. The progress bar 606 and progress indicator 604 may then fade outagain after a period of time subsequent to the user input or selectableportion of the media asset.

For instance, in the illustrative example depicted in FIG. 6, theprogress indicator 604 appears to partially fill the progress bar 606.

The alternate scenes icon 608 may comprise any suitable graphicaldisplay that indicates the availability of alternate scenes forselection by the user. The alternate scenes may also be listed as aseries of images/screenshots, a list of text, selectable hyperlinks,selectable video clips, or any other visual display. In the illustrativeexample depicted in FIG. 6, the alternate scenes icon 608 is depictedwith four rectangles representing the four alternate scenes A, B, C, andD for selection by the user. The rectangles labeled A, B, C, and D inFIG. 6 may be screenshots of the four scenes, representative images ofthe four scenes, and/or may comprise descriptions of the scenes A, B, C,and D. For example, labeled rectangles of alternate scenes icon 608 maybe screenshots of actual footage from the four scenes. In someembodiments, the four rectangles may simply be an image of a characterthat is featured in the corresponding scene. In yet other embodiments,the labeled rectangles may include the name of a character which isfeatured in the corresponding scene. Furthermore, while the alternatescenes icon 608 depicted in FIG. 6 is shown to have four labeledrectangles, the alternate scenes icon 608 may conceivably have any size,shape, or color. In some embodiments, the alternate scenes icon 608 maysimply by a dash, dot, or other shape that is overlaid onto the progressbar 606. The foregoing examples are provided for illustrative purposesonly, and other examples of alternate scenes icon 608 suitable forindicating the availability of alternate scenes may be contemplated byone of ordinary skill in the art.

The alternate scenes icon 608 may be placed at a location on theprogress bar that corresponds to a point in the play length where thealternate scene will be incorporated. In some embodiments, the alternatescenes icon 608 may be displayed throughout playback of the media asset.In other embodiments, the alternate scenes icon 608 may only bedisplayed when playback of the media asset nears the location on theprogress bar that the alternate scene will be incorporated. For example,the alternate scenes icon 608 may be automatically generated for displayin response to playback of the media asset approaching within athreshold time of the point that the alternate scene will beincorporated. In some embodiments, the user may select one of thelabeled rectangles of alternate scenes icon 608 in order to select thecorresponding alternate scene. In some embodiments, the user selectionmay be received at any time during playback of the media asset. In someembodiments, selection of the alternate scenes icon 608 may cause thedisplay of a separate screen, such as screen 500 discussed above inrelation to FIG. 5, in order to receive a user selection of an alternatescene.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for presenting user selectedscenes in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. Process700 includes generating for display a listing for a media asset, whereina play length of the media asset includes a non-selectable play lengthportion and a selectable play length portion at step 702, generating fordisplay a first scene option, wherein the first scene option correspondsto a first scene for incorporation into the selectable play lengthportion at step 704, generating for display a second scene option,wherein the second scene option corresponds to a second scene forincorporation into the selectable play length portion at step 706,receiving a user selection of the first scene option or the second sceneoption at step 708, incorporating either the selected first scene or theselected second scene into the selectable play length portion of themedia asset based on the user selection at step 710, and generating fordisplay the media asset with the either the selected first scene or theselected second scene incorporated into the selectable play lengthportion at step 712.

At step 702, the media guidance application may generate for display(e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) a listing for a media asset.The media guidance application may generate for display the listing inany suitable media guidance screen, such as screen 500 discussed abovein relation to FIG. 5. The media asset may be associated with a playlength including a non-selectable play length portion and a selectableplay length portion. As discussed above, the non-selectable play lengthportion and selectable play length portion may comprise one or morescenes of the media asset.

At step 704, the media guidance application may generate for display(e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) a first scene option, whereinthe first scene option corresponds to a first scene for incorporationinto the selectable play length portion. In some embodiments, the firstscene may be a default scene for incorporation into the media asset. Forinstance, the first scene may be a scene which was selected by anoriginal creator of the media asset or content provider to beincorporated into the media asset, and absent any user selection, may beincorporated into the media asset for viewing by all users. The firstscene may be configured for incorporation into the selectable playlength portion by beginning playback of the first scene at a start timeof the selectable play length portion and stopping playback of the firstscene (or concluding playback of the first scene) at a stop point of theselectable play length portion.

At step 706, the media guidance application may generate for display(e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) a second scene option,wherein the second scene option corresponds to a second scene forincorporation into the selectable play length portion. In someembodiments, the second scene option may correspond to an alternatescene for incorporation into the media asset. For instance, the secondscene may be associated with characteristics which are more preferableto the user than the characteristics of the first scene. As with thefirst scene, the second scene may be configured for incorporation intothe selectable play length portion by beginning playback of the secondscene at a start time of the selectable play length portion and stoppingplayback of the second scene (or concluding playback of the secondscene) at a stop point of the selectable play length portion. In someembodiments, the duration of the first scene is identical to theduration of the second scene. In other embodiments, the duration of thefirst scene is different than the duration of the second scene. As anillustrative example, the first scene may be associated with a firstcharacter of a reality television show, and the second scene may beassociated with a second character of the reality television show. Whilethe media asset was originally configured to display the first sceneabout the first character, the user may be more interested in the secondcharacter, and thus may prefer to incorporate the second scene ratherthan the first scene into the media asset.

At step 708, the media guidance application may receive (e.g., viacontrol circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) a user selection of the first sceneoption or the second scene option. As discussed above, the userselection may be received at any suitable time, including beforeplayback of the media asset begins, during playback of the media asset,while the media asset is paused, or after playback of the media asset.For example, the user selection may be received through a website, suchas website 502 depicted in FIG. 5. As another example, the mediaguidance application may automatically pause the media asset at thestart of a selectable portion of the media asset and present severaloptions for alternate scenes. The user may select one of severaloptions, and in response, the media guidance application may receive theselected scene, either from local memory (e.g., memory 308 (FIG. 3)) orfrom a remote source (e.g., media content source 416 (FIG. 4)). In someembodiments, the user selection may be received prior to a broadcasttime of the media asset. In such embodiments, the media asset may betransmitted by a content provider and received by a user equipment withthe selected scene already incorporated into the media asset.

At step 710, the media guidance application may incorporate (e.g., viacontrol circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) either the selected first scene or theselected second scene into the selectable play length portion of themedia asset based on the user selection. The selected scene may beincorporated by replacing media between a start time and a stop time ofthe selectable play length portion. In some embodiments, the selectedscene may be truncated or augmented (e.g., by adding additional materialor by slowing playback speed) in order to match the duration of theselectable play length portion. In some embodiments, the selected scenemay be incorporated into the media asset before transmission by acontent provider. In some embodiments, the selected scene may beincorporated into the media asset subsequent to receipt of the mediaasset by a user equipment. In such embodiments, the media asset may betransmitted with at least one of the first or second scenes, or thefirst and second scenes may be downloaded from a remote source. In someembodiments, the first and/or second scenes may be downloaded inresponse to receiving the user selection of the first or second scene.At step 712, the media guidance application may generate for display(e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) the media asset with theeither the selected first scene or the selected second sceneincorporated into the selectable play length portion.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart 800 of illustrative steps for presenting userselected scenes in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.Process 800 includes generating for display a progress bar for a mediaasset that graphically represents a user's progress through a playlength of the media asset at step 802, determining a location on theprogress bar that corresponds to a first point in the play length atwhich the user is presented with an option to select one of a firstscene and a second scene for incorporation into the media asset at step804, and generating for display a graphic representation of the optionat the location at step 806.

At step 802, the media guidance application may generate for display(e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) a progress bar for a mediaasset that graphically represents a user's progress through a playlength of the media asset. As discussed above in relation to FIG. 6, theprogress bar may be any shape, size, or color suitable for representingthe play length of the media asset. In some embodiments, the progressbar may be overlaid over the media asset during playback. The progressbar may disappear after a period of time and may be subsequentlygenerated for display in response to a user input.

At step 804, the media guidance application may determine (e.g., viacontrol circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) a location on the progress bar thatcorresponds to a first point in the play length at which the user ispresented with an option to select one of a first scene and a secondscene for incorporation into the media asset. In some embodiments, thelocation may correspond to a start time associated with a selectableportion of a media asset. In some embodiments, the media guidanceapplication may receive the media asset with metadata indicating thestart and/or stop times of selected portions of the media asset. Forexample, the media asset may have embedded triggers that indicate thestart of a selectable portion of the media asset. In response todetecting a trigger, the media guidance application may present the userwith an option to select one of the first scene and the second scene forincorporation into the media asset. In other embodiments, the mediaguidance application may receive the media asset and one or more of thealternate scenes. The alternate scenes may indicate an intended startand/or stop time for incorporation during playback of the media asset.The media guidance application may monitor, for each alternate scene,their start and/or stop time, and in response to detecting a start/stoptime, determine whether the user should be presented with an option toselect one of the first scene or the second scene. In some embodiments,the media guidance application may monitor the start/stop times of eachavailable alternate scene prior to the start of playback of the mediaasset and compile a list of trigger points during the play length of themedia asset. When playback approaches a trigger point, the mediaguidance application may determine whether the user should be presentedwith the option to select one of the alternate scenes.

At step 806, the media guidance application may generate (e.g., viacontrol circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) for display a graphic representation ofthe option at the location. As discussed above in relation to FIG. 6,the icon may be any shape, size, or color suitable for representing theoption to select an alternate scene. In some embodiments, the graphicrepresentation may include a sub-icon corresponding to each sceneavailable for selection. The user may select a sub-icon in order toselect a desired preferred alternate scene. In some embodiments,selection of the graphic representation may result in the display of aseparate screen, such as screen 500 discussed above in relation to FIG.5, in order to receive a user's selection of an alternate scene.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart 800 of illustrative steps for presenting userselected scenes in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.Process 900 includes beginning playback of a media asset at step 902,automatically pausing playback at an intermediate time during the mediaasset at step 904, determining whether a preferred user selection isstored at step 906, simultaneously displaying a plurality of iconscorresponding to alternate scenes at step 908, determining whether atimeout period has elapsed at step 910, selecting a default scene atstep 912, receiving and storing a user selection of an alternate sceneat step 914, displaying a selected scene at step 916, determiningwhether the media asset has ended at step 918, and terminating at step920.

At step 902, playback of a media asset may begin. The media asset may begenerated by media guidance application (e.g., via control circuitry 304(FIG. 3)) for display on, for example, display 312 (FIG. 3). The mediamay begin with a non-selectable portion, such as a default portion thatis intended for viewing by all consumers of a media asset. As anillustrative example, the media asset may be a reality televisionprogram that begins with a scene involving the entire cast of members.At step 904, playback of the media asset may be automatically paused ata point in the play length of the media asset. The point in the playlength of the media asset may correspond to a start point of aselectable portion of the media asset. For instance, the user may beable to select from one of several alternate scenes at the point in theplay length of the media asset. Continuing the illustrative example fromabove, the reality television program may display, after theintroductory group scene, scenes at various different locations. Theuser may be interested in some locations more than others, for instanceHawaii, over New York City, and may desire to select scenes associatedwith Hawaii rather than New York. At step 906, the media guidanceapplication may determine whether a preferred user selection is stored.The media guidance application may check either local storage (e.g.,storage 308 (FIG. 3)) or remote storage (e.g., media content source 416(FIG. 4)) for any stored user preferences or user profiles. As anillustrative example, the media guidance application may have stored inlocal memory a list of prior user selections of alternate scenes. Asanother example, the media guidance application may access a userprofile associated with the user and determine that the user hasindicated an interest in science fiction and action genres and haspreviously lived in Hawaii, and thus is likely to be interested inaction scenes associated with Hawaii. In some embodiments, the preferreduser selection may be the selection of an alternate scene at a priortime. In some embodiments, the preferred user selection may be theselection of metadata associated with the media asset, such as afavorite character, location, genre, topic, actor/actress, or theme. Ifa preferred user selection is stored, then the media guidanceapplication may select a scene according to the preferred user selectionand display the selected scene at step 916. For example, if the user hadpreviously selected an alternate scene (e.g., via website 502 (FIG. 5)),the media guidance application may retrieve the user selection andautomatically display the selected scene. If the preferred userselection was of metadata associated with the media asset, then themedia guidance application may automatically select (e.g., via controlcircuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) a scene according to the selected metadata andautomatically display the selected scene at step 916.

If no preferred user selection was stored, the media guidanceapplication may simultaneously display (e.g., via display 312 (FIG. 3))a plurality of icons corresponding to alternate scenes. As discussedabove in relation to FIG. 6, the plurality of icons may be overlaid ontoa progress bar representing a user's progress through the playback ofthe media asset. In some embodiments, the plurality of icons may beoverlaid onto the progress bar at a point corresponding to the starttime of the selectable portion of the media asset. After display of theplurality of icons, the media guidance application may determine (e.g.,via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) whether a timeout period haselapsed. The timeout period may be a predetermined period of time (e.g.,10 seconds) where the media guidance application monitors for a userselection. If the timeout period elapses without a user selection, thena default scene is automatically selected at step 912. If the userselects a scene prior to the timeout period elapsing, then the mediaguidance may receive (e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) the userselection of the alternate scene and store the user selection (e.g., instorage 308 (FIG. 3)) at step 914.

At step 916, the media guidance application may display (e.g., ondisplay 312 (FIG. 3)) the selected scene. After the selected scene isdisplayed, the media guidance application may continue playback of themedia asset and determine (e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3))whether the media asset has ended at step 918. If the media asset hasnot yet ended, then the media guidance application may return to step904 and automatically pause playback of the media asset at a secondintermediate time. If the media asset has ended, then the media guidanceapplication will terminate process 900 at step 920.

The above-described embodiments of the present disclosure are presentedfor purposes of illustration and not of limitation, and the presentdisclosure is limited only by the claims that follow. Furthermore, itshould be noted that the features and limitations described in any oneembodiment may be applied to any other embodiment herein, and flowchartsor examples relating to one embodiment may be combined with any otherembodiment in a suitable manner, done in different orders, or done inparallel. In addition, the systems and methods described herein may beperformed in real time. It should also be noted that the systems and/ormethods described above may be applied to, or used in accordance with,other systems and/or methods.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for presenting user selected scenes, themethod comprising: retrieving data associated with a video asset,wherein the video asset includes a plurality of predetermined scenesand, at a given time point, a replaceable portion corresponding to atleast one of the predetermined scenes; searching time points in a playlength of the video asset for a first time point that matches the giventime point in the retrieved data; determining a location on a progressbar for the video asset that corresponds to the first time point;playing back the video asset; determining whether a current playposition of the video asset is within a threshold time of the first timepoint; in response to determining the current play position is withinthe threshold time of the first time point, generating for display agraphic representation at the location while the video asset continuesplaying from the current play position to the first time point, whereinthe graphic representation corresponds to an option to select one of afirst scene and a second scene for incorporation into the video asset;graphically and increasingly accentuating the graphic representation ofthe option as the current play position nears the first time point inthe play length; receiving a user selection of the first scene from theoption; and in response to receiving the user selection, generating fordisplay the first scene instead of the at least one predetermined scenecorresponding to the replaceable portion, thereby replacing thereplaceable portion of the video asset without replacing the entirevideo asset.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the graphicrepresentation of the option is generated for display during playback ofthe video asset.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprisingautomatically selecting the first scene for display after a period oftime subsequent to pausing the playback of the video asset.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, wherein playback of the video asset is automaticallypaused at the first time point in the play length, and wherein thegraphic representation of the option is generated for display prior tothe playback of the video asset being paused.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein the graphic representation of the option includes a firstthumbnail corresponding to the first scene and a second thumbnailcorresponding to the second scene.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein thegraphic representation of the option includes a description of the firstscene and a description of the second scene.
 7. The method of claim 1,further comprising generating for display a description of the firstscene and a description of the second scene upon a user selection of thegraphic representation of the option.
 8. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising generating for display the progress bar simultaneously withthe display of the video asset.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein theprogress bar for the video asset graphically represents a user'sprogress through the play length of the video asset, and wherein theprogress bar includes the timeline representing the current playposition within the video asset relative to start and end points of thevideo asset.
 10. A system for presenting user selected scenes, thesystem comprising: control circuitry configured to: retrieve dataassociated with a video asset, wherein the video asset includes aplurality of predetermined scenes and, at a given time point, areplaceable portion corresponding to at least one of the predeterminedscenes; search time points in a play length of the video asset for afirst time point that matches the given time point in the retrieveddata; determine a location on a progress bar for the video asset thatcorresponds to the first time point; play back the video asset;determine whether a current play position of the video asset is within athreshold time of the first time point; in response to determining thecurrent play position is within the threshold time of the first timepoint, generate for display a graphic representation at the locationwhile the video asset continues playing from the current play positionto the first time point, wherein the graphic representation correspondsto an option to select one of a first scene and a second scene forincorporation into the video asset; graphically and increasinglyaccentuate the graphic representation of the option as the current playposition nears the first time point in the play length; receive a userselection of the first scene from the option; and in response toreceiving the user selection, generate for display the first sceneinstead of the at least one predetermined scene corresponding to thereplaceable portion, thereby replacing the replaceable portion of thevideo asset without replacing the entire video asset.
 11. The system ofclaim 10, wherein the graphic representation of the option is generatedfor display during playback of the video asset.
 12. The system of claim10, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to automaticallyselect the first scene for display after a period of time subsequent topausing the playback of the video asset.
 13. The system of claim 10,wherein playback of the video asset is automatically paused at the firsttime point in the play length, and wherein the graphic representation ofthe option is generated for display prior to the playback of the videoasset being paused.
 14. The system of claim 10, wherein the graphicrepresentation of the option includes a first thumbnail corresponding tothe first scene and a second thumbnail corresponding to the secondscene.
 15. The system of claim 10, wherein the graphic representation ofthe option includes a description of the first scene and a descriptionof the second scene.
 16. The system of claim 10, wherein the controlcircuitry is further configured to generate for display a description ofthe first scene and a description of the second scene upon a userselection of the graphic representation of the option.
 17. The system ofclaim 10, wherein the control circuitry is further configured togenerate for display the progress bar simultaneously with the display ofthe video asset.
 18. The system of claim 10, wherein the progress barfor the video asset graphically represents a user's progress through theplay length of the video asset, and wherein the progress bar includesthe timeline representing the current play position within the videoasset relative to start and end points of the video asset.
 19. Themethod of claim 1 wherein increasingly accentuating the graphicrepresentation of the option comprises increasing the size of thegraphic representation of the option as the current play position nearsthe first time point.
 20. The system of claim 10 wherein increasinglyaccentuating the graphic representation of the option comprisesincreasing the size of the graphic representation of the option as thecurrent play position nears the first time point.